Rules of the Trail
The way we ride today shapes mountain bike
trail access tomorrow. Do your part to preserve and
enhance our sport's access and image by observing the
following rules of the trail, formulated by IMBA, the
International Mountain Bicycling Association. IMBA's
mission is to promote mountain bicycling that is
environmentally sound and socially responsible. For more
info check out IMBA
Rules of the Trail. 1.
Ride On Open Trails Only. 2.
Leave No Trace. In fact, leave less of a trace. See
trash, pick it up. 3. Control Your Bicycle! 4.
Always Yield Trail. 5. Never Scare Animals. 6.
Plan Ahead. 7. Respect closed trails.
Keep trails open by setting a good example of
environmentally sound and socially responsible off-road
cycling.
Why
doesn't TriangleMTB.com list all the trails in the
Triangle?
We get asked this question a lot. There
are a lot of great trails that are not listed on the
site. The biggest reason for not listing them is legal
liability. TMTB or its sponsors cannot legally reccomend
riding on unauthorized trails. Some trails are private
and the owner/builders have asked to not have them
listed. We can respect that. Believe me, we would list
them if we could.
But MTBR lists them in their trail reviews?
Actually, MTBR the company does not list them but rather
it's free members list them on their own accord. They
also post a warning not to list illegal trails. They
tread the line so to speak and probably have a lawyer on
retainer. We don't have a lawyer and don't want to need
one!
Trail
Etiquette, the not so fine line of single track.
Group
riding tips A few tips concerning trail
and riding etiquette. These are not rules, but
suggestions.
1. Have fun. 2. Keep a reasonable
distance between you and the rider in front of you. This
allows them room to make mistakes and dabs, plus you're
not running into them. This is especially true when
riding on obstacles, stunts or difficult climbs. 3.
It's not rude to ask to go ahead or ask to be passed. A
group will find it's natural speed and you will feel more
comfortable knowing your not holding someone up or
slowing yourself down. 4. When you fall on an
obstacle, make every effort to clear the area for the
next rider and allow them the opportunity to try it as
well. 5. Don't stop in the middle of the trail
if you can help it. 6. Always say hi to other
riders not in your group. It's common to announce how
many more riders are in your group that still need to
pass. 7. Always ask riders with mechanical
issues if they need a hand. 8. Don't widen the
trail or take short cuts. Respect the trail design. 9.
Don't stand in landing zones for hucks and jumps. No
telling where the rider will land sometimes and you don't
want to be hit. 10. Warn riders behind you of
hidden obstacles or trouble. 11. Make sure you
come out of the woods with everyone you started with.
It's common to regroup at trail intersections. 12.
If your going to stop, stop at the top of the hill, not
the bottom. 13. Be patient. 14. Be
encouraging to other riders, respect others skills,
abilities and learning curves. 15. Big Groups
might consider yielding to smaller groups or singles. Let
them pass in opposite direction, or "play through" if
they are faster than your group. 16. Designate
a sweeper to ride last if there are beginners or riders
of varying skill level on the ride.
Don't
modify the trail because you can't clear the obstacle
where others can. Please do not cheapen the
mountain biking experience by making the trails or
obstacles easier. Notching or removing logs, clearing
rock piles, widening turns, etc only robs the community
of the challenge and fun of mountain biking. It is
especially senseless when the obstacle has been in place
for a long time. What if somebody paved the whole trail?
Think about how that would take away from the experience.
If we can not ride an
obstacle, we walk it without shame. We all have our
abilities, and these must be challenged in order for them
to be increased. Suppose my 60 year old dad, who does
have a mountain bike, thinks an obstacle is too hard. It
would negatively impact everyone if he went out there and
constructed a sidewalk wide smooth bridge over the
obstacle. This would not make anyone happy except him and
riders of his ability, but at the same time it would
deprive him of any possible challenges in the future.
As an alternative to walking obstacles, a
bypass trail could be established. Those who like the
obstacle can ride it, and those who don't can bypass it.
Whenever someone has altered an
established trail or obstacle, they have forever denied
everyone of the opportunity of riding it and challenging
themselves. We suggest you search for the main group who
built and maintain the trail and volunteer to help. This
way you can express your desires and contribute to the
whole mountain bike community.
Riding
with your dog:
It's not as simple as it sounds. A well behaved
trail dog is a great riding buddy. A dog that causes you
or your buddies to get frustrated is no good. These tips
were submitted by a TMTB forum poster, the logslayer.
1. Ride in back if you're with a group My dog
(a white eskimo spitz) likes to run behind me, and
consequently will always try to stay there - even if
someone passes him. In fact, my main trail buddy calls
him 'Little Earnhardt' because of the way he "blocks"
riders trying to pass him. He'll also take short cuts to
get back behind me if someone manages to pass him.
Knowing all of this, I usually bring up the rear when
riding with a group - especially when riding with folks
who are not used to riding with dawgs. Although, because
I'm sometimes faster than most of my trail buds, I
occasionally get out ahead of them far enough to where
they don't even see my puppy. But, if I'm on a training
ride with fast company, I usually just leave Max at home.
Moral of story - ride in back if you're with a group. Let
your riding buddies know the commands to get the pooch
out of the way ahead of time and let them know its okay
to tell Fido to get out of the way.
2. Be aware of temperature and weather
conditions for fido's sake. Basically, just remember
you have a huge advantage over your dog in covering long
stretches of distance. Even in relatively cool weather,
dogs can get over-heated. Dogs really have a pretty
inferior cooling system compared to humans and horses
because we can sweat. As you know, cooling off is all
about heat exchange, and sweating is a very effective way
of accomplishing this goal (i.e. the liquid conveys alot
of heat out of your body). Dogs on the otherhand, have to
cool themselves off by circulating an enormous amount of
blood through their sinus area and panting to draw cool
air into this area, thereby "air-cooling" their blood.
This system may be OK for long sled pulls in the arctic,
but that's because it's freaking -5 degrees up there.
Thus, make sure to have a few planned water breaks along
the way to let you mutt cool off and get a drink of
water. That's pretty easy around hear because of the
plethora of creeks available. In general though, most
dogs don't have a problem running the trails of the
Triangle area because they are relatively short and
pretty hilly, which gives them plenty of time to catch up
or pass you on the climbs...But you can positively kill a
dog (or any animal for that matter) on a trail like Tsali
which is long and very fast. You may have to take a
slower pace in a situation like that. Finally, in really
hot weather, leave Fido at home...
3. Some breeds and some dogs catch on
to trail etiquette much quicker than others. My doggy
never had to be trained not to run off or chase something
- he just automatically wanted to keep me in sight at all
times (some breeds are more apt to be VERY attached to
their owners and never want to be seperated). He also
learned "MAX, MOVE!" on his first ride, so anybody (if
they know the command) can tell that and he'll pull off
the trail and let you go. I was VERY LUCKY because my dog
never had to be trained anything, he just figured it out
instantly (I know its sounds like I'm bragging, but
believe me, Max has several other quirks that can try my
patience ). Some dogs need to be trained the "MOVE"
command (for instance, most labs I've ridden with are so
excited to be running around with you, they tend to get
in your way and need to "taught" a lesson with a gentle
nudging of the front wheel). Also, be
realistic about what your dog is really capable of...Some
dogs, (e.g. greyhound type builds) can seemingly run all
day with a graceful ease, but other larger breeds or
small pudgy breeds are not particulary efficient runners
and will suffer miserably on long/fast rides. Basically,
a Bull dog is not a good trail dog...Also, most big dogs
(80lbs and up) will develop major joint disorders if they
run around too much - trail terrain puts a lot of stress
on their shoulder joints and hips; keep this in mind.
Very small dogs can also get worn out in a hurry because
they have to work so much harder to keep up (although I
have ridden with a couple Jack Russells that were little
machines, very young though). The perfect trail dog IMHO
is a 40-60 lb long striding dog with short hair in good
health.
4. Obey park/trail rules concerning dogs...I
know everybody has the perfect pooch, but please reframe
from taking them out to public parks and New Light...No
need to give our furry friends a bad name. Also, make
sure your dog is well behaved around other people and
other dogs when you do have him/her on a trail.
5. Keep up with your dogs'
preventive maintenance. Just make sure to give them
the proper flea/tick/heartworm medications because they
will be exposed to an inordinate number of parasites
while on the trail. And believe me, the modern flea/tick
medications really do work - I wish I could take them
sometimes. But don't forget about the heartworm meds due
to the fact that the dogs will be drinking water out of
creeks where a bunch of mosquito larvae hang out (i.e.
heart worms). I also usually bring a couple dog treats
(they even have doggy power bars nowadays) on longer
rides. It's also a good idea to have a spare bowl for
water at your vehicle to freshen up your pup before the
ride home (or, they even have collapsable bowls now that
fit easily into most camle backs; so you can give your
dog water even when a creek is not close by or is dry).
Not a bad idea to have a towel handy at the car as well.
Don't forget to check for limping and look at their pads
to ensure they haven't torn them up (especially for big
dogs, they seem to wear holes in their pads on rocky
terrain - like Slick Rock in Dupont Forest). Finally, you
may wish to shave your dog in warmer weather if they have
long hair. There seems to be some controversy about
shaving versus not shaving, but I have found my dog is
MUCH more comfortable when he's shaved in the warmer
seasons. BTW, you can usually give a dog buffered aspirin
if they're limping or stiff - BUT, MAKE SURE YOU ASK YOUR
VET ABOUT THIS BECAUSE TOO MUCH ASPIRIN CAN BE DANGEROUS
AND IT MUST BE BUFFERED!!! For example, my girlfriend
gives her 100 lb lab one 325 buffered aspirin (like
Bufferin) when he's a little stiff, but she also makes
sure she gives it to him with food. It would obviously be
less aspirin for a smaller dog.
6. Keep your dog in shape...Some
people are fair weather riders and go through long
stretches without riding...If that's the case, make sure
to take your dog for long walks (or even better, a nice
jog is great for them) frequently during this period.
I apologize for being so long-winded and
somewhat patronizing, but I've been riding with Max for 5
years now and I had a lot of experience with "mountain
dogging"...But once you have a worthy trail dog, it is a
great relationship because you'll almost always have a
friend to ride with (and they won't make fun of you if
you get off your bike and walk around a technical
section. - LogSlayer, thanks for contributing to the site.
Night
Riding in the Triangle Night riding is allowed on some of trails
and not allowed on others. Look for the moon graphic on
each trail page to see if it is available for night
riding. Some trails are open 24x7 while others allow for
night riding only for an organized group ride or event.
Stay posted to this site and the events page for group
night rides.
"I may never be a rich man, but I ride a nice bike."
- Striker
If we can not ride an
obstacle, we walk it without shame. We all have our
abilities, and these must be challenged in order for them
to be increased. Suppose my 60 year old dad, who does
have a mountain bike, thinks an obstacle is too hard. It
would negatively impact everyone if he went out there and
constructed a sidewalk wide smooth bridge over the
obstacle. This would not make anyone happy except him and
riders of his ability, but at the same time it would
deprive him of any possible challenges in the future.
Also, be
realistic about what your dog is really capable of...Some
dogs, (e.g. greyhound type builds) can seemingly run all
day with a graceful ease, but other larger breeds or
small pudgy breeds are not particulary efficient runners
and will suffer miserably on long/fast rides. Basically,
a Bull dog is not a good trail dog...Also, most big dogs
(80lbs and up) will develop major joint disorders if they
run around too much - trail terrain puts a lot of stress
on their shoulder joints and hips; keep this in mind.
Very small dogs can also get worn out in a hurry because
they have to work so much harder to keep up (although I
have ridden with a couple Jack Russells that were little
machines, very young though). The perfect trail dog IMHO
is a 40-60 lb long striding dog with short hair in good
health. 
Night riding is allowed on some of trails
and not allowed on others. Look for the moon graphic on
each trail page to see if it is available for night
riding. Some trails are open 24x7 while others allow for
night riding only for an organized group ride or event.
Stay posted to this site and the events page for group
night rides.